Hong Kong budget 2024-25: arrivals to hit 70% of pre-pandemic levels by end of 2024, Tourism Board says
- Board estimates 46 million tourists will visit this year, 35 per cent higher than in 2023, but only representing 70 per cent of 2018 number
- Government has budgeted HK$1.5 billion to promote Hong Kong as a destination for ‘high-value tourists’
Hong Kong’s tourism arrivals will recover to 70 per cent of pre-pandemic levels by the end of this year, according to official estimates, as the city aims to boost its economy by drawing more “high-value visitors”.
The Hong Kong Tourism Board forecast 46 million people would visit the city in 2024, 35 per cent higher than last year, but only representing 70 per cent of the 65 million tourists in 2018, according to a supplementary budget document.
The board budgeted HK$1.5 billion (US$191.7 million) to promote Hong Kong as a tourism destination for “high-value tourists” as it anticipated spending for each overnight visitor per capita to shrink as much as 16.4 per cent to HK$5,800 this year from HK$6,939 in 2023.
It also expected visitors would spend a shorter time in Hong Kong, at 3.2 nights this year compared with 3.6 nights in 2023.
While it did not set targets for the number of visitors expected to stay overnight, data from the board showed that half of the tourists in 2023 were day trippers.
The forecast was part of a broader budget plan presented by Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po on Wednesday that sought to prioritise stimulating the economy through tourism.
“Hong Kong is in its second year of the post-Covid recovery. It will take a longer time to return to the previous level – case in point is Singapore,” a source familiar with the situation said.